The administration of President Donald Trump has allowed the US troops to accompany and jointly conduct operations with the Afghan security forces, it has been reported.

According to the Pentagon officials, hundreds of US troops will accompany the Afghan forces during the counter-terrorism operations, mainly to coordinate air and artillery strikes.

“Hundreds of American troops will accompany Afghan forces on combat missions, where they will be able to directly request bombing raids and artillery fire for their Afghan partners,” the Pentagon officials have told Foreign Policy.

This comes as the NATO defense ministers also agreed last week to increase the number of the NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The latest commitment by the NATO members comes as Washington announced its new policy for Afghanistan and South Asia few months earlier.

Announcing the new US strategy in the month of August, President Trump said the consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable.

The US and NATO forces concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014 by fully handing over the security responsibilities to the Afghan security and launching the new train, advise, and assist mission or the Resolute Support mission.

However, the US forces resumed airstrikes late last year amid growing concerns that the terror groups, specifically the ISIS terrorists are attempting to expand their foothold in the country._ KP